Delhi police deployed around 10,000 personnel, including security forces, across central and western parts of the city on Sunday as an INDIA bloc rally and a BJP march took place days before Diwali, raising concerns among traders about access to markets and the impact on festive sales.
The INDIA bloc’s ‘Chalo Delhi’ march was scheduled to begin near Minto Road and Connaught Place after leaders gathered at Constitution Club at 11 am. The procession was to conclude at Ramlila Maidan, where the opposition alliance planned a rally demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and alleging irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
The rally was expected to include Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, according to the report.
The BJP was conducting a separate march in western Delhi to commemorate the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The march was scheduled to start at the Hari Nagar bus depot at 11.30 am and end near Tilak Nagar Metro station. Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Minister of State Harsh Malhotra, H S Phoolka, Manjinder Singh Sirsa and BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj were expected to participate.
The two political programmes created concern among traders because they were being held shortly before Diwali, traditionally one of the most important sales periods for Delhi’s retail markets. The Chamber of Trade and Industry and the Federation of Sadar Bazaar Traders’ Associations had written to opposition leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and Mamata Banerjee, asking that the Ramlila Maidan rally be postponed until after the festival. The traders said the protests could affect investments made for Diwali sales, but the request did not result in a postponement.
Security arrangements were concentrated around Ramlila Maidan, Connaught Place, Jantar Mantar and the Election Commission office. More than 4,000 personnel were deployed at and around Ramlila Maidan, while barricading and vehicle surveillance were intensified in central Delhi. The arrangements were intended to manage crowds, protect sensitive locations and regulate movement around the protest routes.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central, Rohit Rajbir, said the area had been covered by between 200 and 250 closed-circuit television cameras. He added that the organisers had their own control room and that the police and organisers were coordinating security arrangements. Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Devesh Chandra Srivastava reviewed preparations at Ramlila Maidan on Saturday afternoon.
The events place Delhi’s festival-period retail activity alongside the city’s continuing requirement to manage large political gatherings in dense commercial and transport districts. The police deployment, barricading and surveillance measures are expected to remain linked to the scheduled routes and venues as the marches and rally proceed.
